Hello Bookworms!
I thank you
all for being so patient with me during my absence! As some of you know I am a
college student and this past semester has been extremely hectic leaving me no
time read many new books and even less time to blog about them. BUT! I am happy
to say that I passed the semester and now I am back to blogging with new
reviews! I’d like to start with a sweet summer romance that I read during this
summer A Suitable Wife by Louise M. Gouge.
Summary
Lady Beatrice Gregory
is beautiful, eligible, but poor thanks to the gambling habit her brother
developed. That’s why her first season in London is being spent as Mrs.
Parton’s companion. Beatrice wants nothing more than to be able to have the
wonderful season that her dear, departed mother had always promised her.
Beatrice wants to find a husband. But how she can do that without offending her
patroness, Mrs. Parton, she does not know. Therefore Beatrice is resigned to
give up on her dreams of marriage and enjoy the season as Mrs. Parton’s
companion only.
Lord Greystone is
the eldest of three brothers. And the only one who remains unmarried much to
his mother’s frustration. Lord Greystone looks at the happy and blessed
marriages of his two brothers and hopes to have that himself. But he is afraid
to try. Lord Greystone’s father was a man with a temper and he took it out on
his family. Lord Greystone’s biggest fear is that he is more like his father
than he realizes. After all when he was a younger there was that one incident…
Both of
these people find love during the season in London. How? With Whom? Find out in
A Suitable Wife by Louise M. Gouge!
Review
Readers I LOVED this
book!!!! Mrs. Gouge masterfully tells a tale of suspense, secrets, and love
that will keep readers interested from beginning to end.
One of my
favorite parts of the book is the relationship that both main characters have
with the Lord. Mrs. Gouge meshes what the characters are dealing with on the
outside with their internal monologue between themselves and the Lord so well
that it doesn’t interrupt the flow of the book nor does it seem out of place. In
particular one of my favorite prayers is when Lord Greystone is thinking about
whom he should marry and then in two short sentences puts all of his worry and
trust back into the Lord’s hands by praying “Lord Thou knowest whom I should marry. I pray Thee, do make haste and
bring her across my path.” Then Greystone chooses to concentrate on other
things and let the Lord work it out. What a beautifully written example on how
we should deal with all the concerns in our lives.
Another
favorite part of the book is when the main characters are attending the play Hamlet. As the actor performs the famous
“To Be or Not To Be” speech as Hamlet, Mrs. Gouge weaves the lines from the
play and Lord Greystone’s thoughts together so that the lines from the speech
mirror that of Lord Greystone’s feelings and as Lord Greystone reflects on
those words and we follow his internal monologue we get a deeper sense of the
conflict inside of the character. A page later, Mrs. Gouge does the same thing
with Lady Beatrice’s character by giving us a deeper understanding of Lady
Beatrice’s internal struggle through the characters of Hamlet’s Queen Gertrude and Ophelia during the announcement of
Ophelia’s death. Never before have a I seen an author do such an amazing job of
tying a classical piece on literature into a new work so that it added so much
to the new work.
I would
certainly recommend this book to anyone. I would also recommend looking at
Louise M. Gouge’s other works Love Thine
Enemy, The Captain’s Lady, At the Captain’s Command, A Proper Companion (Ladies In Waiting).
Now when
most people hear “summer romance read” they think of those steamy romance books
that include a lot of sex that most people would be embarrassed to admit they
read (which is probably why they read it while on summer vacation while
everyone they know is back home haha!). That’s not the case with A Suitable Wife. A Suitable Wife is published by Love Inspired Books. Love Inspired
Books lives up to its name by publishing romance stories that are based on love
not lust. So, if your tween or teen wants to be a part on the summer romance
reading craze, these books would be perfect for them. The look and length of
the books and the stories inside are the same but with better values.
Link to buy:
Louise M. Gouge on Twitter:
Links to Love Inspired Books:
Love Inspired Books on Twitter:
@LoveInspiredBks
Until Next Time!,
Lizzie <3
